Anupam Mittal urges end to Gen Z job-hopping shaming, flags need for long-term commitment

Anupam Mittal, founder and chief executive officer of Shaadi.com and a judge on Shark Tank India, has weighed into the debate around Gen Z professionals and frequent job changes, calling for an end to what he described as public shaming of young workers early in their careers.

In a LinkedIn post that triggered wide discussion, Mittal questioned why professionals in their early twenties are often criticised for switching roles frequently. He said it was common to see 22-year-olds labelled as “job hoppers” for changing companies every year, despite being at an exploratory stage of their careers.

According to Mittal, the early years of employment are meant for experimentation. He argued that young professionals are still discovering their interests, strengths and preferred work environments, making short stints across roles or industries both natural and useful.

“If you’re not feeling it, move. Don’t feel bad about it,” Mittal wrote, adding that guilt has no place in early career decisions that are driven by learning and self-discovery.

However, he cautioned against normalising constant movement as a long-term strategy. Describing this as a critical “but”, Mittal said sustained tenure becomes essential once individuals identify a direction that suits them. He noted that while hiring for senior leadership or what he referred to as “Level 1” roles, he routinely filters out resumes that lack at least one meaningful stint of four to five years.

Explaining his view, Mittal said the real impact of professional decisions often unfolds over multiple years. He outlined a typical progression where the first year is spent learning, the second executing ideas, and the third managing outcomes while scaling what works. “You usually can’t see the consequences of your own decisions in 12 months,” he wrote.

Mittal also shared a rough framework for career planning. He suggested that professionals between the ages of 21 and 24 should actively explore and switch roles if needed, while those aged 25 and above should aim to commit to an organisation for a minimum of four years.

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“If you want to be a founder or a CEO, you need to prove you can stay in the kitchen when it gets hot,” he said, adding that while understanding a role may take a year, developing a deep understanding of an industry typically requires three to five years.

The post drew a strong response from LinkedIn users, many of whom echoed Mittal’s nuanced view. Several commenters agreed that early career movement helps build perspective, but warned that avoiding depth can limit long-term growth.

“Exploration in the early 20s builds pattern recognition, but leadership is forged only when someone stays long enough to live with the consequences of their decisions,” one user wrote. Others said the post highlighted a gap in common career advice, noting that while speed helps discover fit, commitment is what ultimately proves capability.

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